The word Gospel comes from the Greek noun
"euangelion" and it literally means "Good News. It was used
during biblical times to speak of any type of good news. The New Testament
authors speak of "our Gospel" (2 Cor. 3:4), "the Gospel of
God" (s Cor. 11:7), and "the Gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:7). They
are very specific. Therefore, the Christian message is by definition news or an
oral proclamation concerning what God has done for us in His Son, Jesus the
Christ.
In summary, God became a man in the person of Jesus,
lived the sinless life we should have lived, died an excruciating death on the
cross in our place, paying the price for our sins, so that through faith we
might enjoy Him forever.
It really is that simple, but I think we could break it
down and simplify it even further with just three words. That is, the deity,
death, and resurrection of Jesus. Let's take a closer look at each of these.
The
Deity of Christ
The deity of Christ speaks of His divine nature. No one
in humanity is comparable to Him and no other founder of a major world religion
made the kind of claims that Jesus did. C. S. Lewis popularized a “Trilemma”
argument which entailed Jesus as a liar, lunatic, or Lord. While many may
reject His astounding claim as the divine Son of God, the Bible is clear that
He is neither deceptive nor foolish. The Gospel of John gives the reader some
of the clearest and most compelling revelation concerning Who Jesus is.
Addressing the religious Scribes and the Pharisees, He says…
You are from below, I am from above; you are
of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore, I say to you that you will
die in your sins unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
- John 8:23-24
The first step towards clarifying the Gospel requires an
understanding of who God is and who we are as sinful fallen human beings. We
have fallen short of the glory of God, and Jesus tells us the solution is to
believe that He is I AM. If you look at an English translation of the Bible,
the word “He” is typically in italics because it is added by the translators.
Contextually, Jesus is says, “I’m from above, I’m not of this world, and unless
you believe that I AM you will die in your sins. His words should remind us of
what God said to Moses.
“I AM WHO I AM; and He said, Thus you shall
say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. God furthermore said to
Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, The Lord, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent
me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all
generations.”
- Exodus 3:14-15
Jesus bridges the gap between the Old and New Testament
saying I AM the Great I AM. He is Yahweh in the flesh, and as the name
indicates God doesn’t just exist but He is Existence. God doesn’t just love,
but He is pure and undefiled Love. As the Psalmist says, “You are Good and you
do good” (Ps. 119:68), and Jesus Christ, the God/Man brings great clarity to
the goodness of God.
The
Death of Christ
When it comes to the death
of Christ we should take a moment and reflect on the way in which God
demonstrated His love towards us. Once again, the Gospel of John gives us a
clear and compelling statement concerning the love of God for the entire world.
For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
- John 3:16
“For God so loved the world” is not meant to
communicate how much God loved, but the way in which He love, He gave His one
and only Son. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, “For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given” (Isa. 9:6). God the Father gave His Son
as a Holy and Righteous sacrifice for us, but whatever the Father does, the Son
and the Holy Spirit are always in agreement. They are co-equal and co-eternal
persons within the one Trinitarian God. That is one God who has revealed
Himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What is God? He is One. Who is
God? He is three. There is unity and diversity. So it should come as no
surprise to us that Jesus willingly lays down His life on the cross.
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because
I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from
Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have the authority to lay it
down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This commandment I received
from My Father.”
- John 10:17-18
The Gospel is built on the fact that Jesus has authority
over death and hell, and as the God/Man He willingly provided a way for you and
I to be reconciled to God in His sacrificial and substitutionary death on the
cross. It is here that the love of God and the justice of God united in one
historical event.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
- 2 Cor. 5:21
What you and I need is not just the virtue of right
behavior because we have sinned against an infinitely righteous and Holy God.
Therefore, what we need is His righteousness, and this is exactly what the
death of Christ provides for us on the cross. Once again, if we look back to
the Holy Spirit inspired words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, we see this
is exactly what was predicted.
“But He was pierced through for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our
well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like
sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has
caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
- Isaiah 53:5-6
This is Good News! However, the story does
not end here.
The
Resurrection of Christ
The
resurrection of Christ is the hinge on which the door of Christianity swings.
In fact, the Apostle Paul says if Christ has not been raised from the dead our
preaching and even our faith is worthless (1 Cor. 15:14). It was a real
historical event confirming the deity of Christ. While His death is indicative
of His human nature, the resurrection highlights His divine nature in a
tangible or objective way. You and I can look back on this day and examine the
historical evidence. Although history cannot provide certainty, it can give us
reasons to believe the biblical account of the life, death, and resurrection.
The Bible does not expect or call for blind irrational faith. When Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead, He repeatedly said He performed this miracle “so that
you may believe” (Jn.11:15). He then proceeds to make another astonishing
claim.
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and
the life; he who believes in Me will live even though he dies, and everyone who
lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- John 11:25-26
However, Christ is not calling for some intellectual
belief that He exists, but a relational commitment to Him that begins here and
now. The fall of mankind and the problem of sin can be restored through this
relational faith in God’s Son. That alone is Good News, but Scripture tells us
there’s more. Scripture promises us a glorified body in the likeness of His.
Christ will, “transform the body of our humble state
into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that
He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
- Phil. 3:21
Peter says something very similar.
“Seeing that His divine power has granted to
us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of
Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted
to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world by lust.”
- 2 Peter 1:3-4
Is it any wonder that Isaiah, chapter 54 begins with
“shout for joy? Break forth into joyful shouting! Cry aloud! Why? Because the
eternal Son of God not only creates life, but He freely offers eternal life to
everyone. We can be restored relational to God, even becoming like Him, not
through human effort, but through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. Now
that is Good News! It’s Good News that the world needs to hear.
